


Unconventional Tactics

by Fateful_Destiny



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic
Genre: Crazy Droid, Smuggling job gone wrong
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-22
Updated: 2018-01-22
Packaged: 2019-03-07 03:26:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13425771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fateful_Destiny/pseuds/Fateful_Destiny
Summary: After being in the business for several years, Captain Zamrise Rye was sure he could handle transporting a droid to Coruscant. But the droid must have blown a fuse, for in the middle of hyperspace, it manages to... well.. complicate matters.





	Unconventional Tactics

**Author's Note:**

> Who knew that Chopper existed 3,600 years before Star Wars Rebels?
> 
> OC List:  
> -Zamrise Rye: captain, former slave on Nar Shaddaa, Twi'lek  
> -Carmois Devora: co-pilot and unoffical mechanic, former runaway on Nar Shaddaa, human
> 
> *Takes place a year before Chapter 1 of Smuggler storyline
> 
> Inspiration taken from SWTOR prompt on Tumblr: "OC acquires a temperamental Astromech"

“CARMOIS!!!”

Carmois bit back a curse his head jerked up in surprise, hitting the coolant pipe he was working on. Zamrise’s shout was so loud it was still echoing throughout the cramped engine space, only making the throbbing in his head worse.

Carmois quickly crawled out of the compartment, tossing his tools to the side and wiping his greasy hands with a spare rag.

Unlatching his holster, Carmois launched himself up the ladder, ready to face whatever had startled the captain. _Was it a hostile stowaway? Another pack of gizkas messing with the spice? Was it…_

The last thing Carmois expected to see was the Twi’lek captain crouched on top of one of the piles of crates in the cargo hold, being held hostage by a…. droid?

Carmois’s mouth hung open as he took in the scene, not quite believing what he was seeing. The droid they had agreed to smuggle to Coruscant had cornered Zamrise, several metallic arms waving about. One such arm had sparks flying from the end; Carmois suspected that was how it attacked Zamrise.

Zamrise glared at the droid as Carmois cautiously pulled himself fully up, perching on the edge of the ladder.

“You _kriffing_ pile of…” Zamrise broke off as he spotted Carmois.

Carmois couldn’t keep the grin off of his face as he asked,

“Run into some trouble, Captain?”

Zamrise scowled briefly.

“Shut up,” he muttered.

Carmois’s grin grew wider before a horrifying sound reached his ears. The droid, having noticed him, let out a warbling screech and, faster than he could blink, came charging straight at him.

Leaping up, Carmois scrambled backwards until he hit another pile of crates, then hoisted himself up onto it. He had faced down many gangs before on Nar Shaddaa, but an angry droid was something he had never wanted to face.

Swinging his feet up right before the droid could zap them, Carmois stared down at the droid, who seemed to wear a smug expression. It let out a few beeps of triumph and wheeled to the center of the cargo hold, keeping watch over its two hostages.

A small snicker came over from Zamrise’s crates.

“Did you run into some trouble, Carmois?”

Carmois raised an eyebrow in his direction.

“Shut up.”

-

“Thirty-seven cups of caf on the wall. Thirty-seven cups of caf. You take one down, pass it around, thirty-six cups of caf on the wall.”

Zamrise was leaning back against the stacked crates, his eyes closed as he murmured the repetitive chorus. Likewise, Carmois leaned against his own crate, tossing a piece of fruit between his hands. 

“Thirty-four cups of caf on the wall…”

Groaning, Carmois chucked the piece of fruit at the droid and checked his chrono. It’d been two hours since they’d been locked in the cargo hold, and the droid was still not relenting. The damn thing had the patience of a Jedi but the temperment of a Sand Person. Speaking of… 

The droid, fruit juice now leaking down its side, whirled angrily and sent a shock bolt towards him. _Kriff._

There was no room for Carmois to move on the crates. Cursing loudly, he scrambled off the crates, wincing as his shoulder hit the edge of another crate. Spotting the door to the side of the cargo hold, he leapt up and, dodging another energy bolt, sprinted towards the control panel.

"Wait, what-?"

Carmois ignored Zamrise's shout of surprise as he neared the droid. Behind him, he heard the droid giving chase with an irritated beep and pumped his legs faster, the fear of a shock punishment fueling him. Slamming his fist on the control panel, Carmois spun around as the door closed, hearing a very satisfied _thunk_ as the droid careened into the door.

“Carmois! Don’t leave me in here with the murderous droid… _ow!_ Hey! I said friendly, not murderous…”

Chewing his lip, Carmois was still plotting how to get Zamrise out of the hold when a chime broke through his thoughts, simultaneously feeling the subtle jolt as the ship dropped out of hyperspace. The onboard comm system crackled, and Carmois froze as a voice came through.

“This is Coruscant Traffic Security hailing unidentified vessel. Please state your business and authorization codes.”

_That complicated matters..._  


“Sorry Zamrise! I’ll buy you a cookie after this is over!” Carmois shouted as he spun towards the cockpit.

“Some friend you are!”

Sliding into the pilot’s seat, Carmois barely had time to transfer over manual control before the comm crackled to life again:  
  
“Unidentified vessel, respond immediately or prepare to be boarded by Republic officials.”

Flipping the transmission switch, Carmois steered the ship towards Coruscant’s looming surface as he replied,

“Uhh, yes, yes, this is _Golden Star-_ ,"  _'I hope that name matches_ ', "-requesting permission to land at private docking bay. Authorization codes…” Carmois listed off the authorization codes their client had given them, praying they went through without a hitch. He needed to check if Zamrise was still ~~alive~~ alright.

“Authorization codes accepted. _Golden Star_ , you are--”

For a second, Carmois thought he was hallucinating as a high pitched shriek echoed through the ship. Banging his knee on the console in surprise, he whirled around in the chair as the cockpit door flew open. Zamrise unceremoniously dove through the door, scrambling up a half second later. Spotting a glint of metal careening towards the open door, Carmois slammed his hand on the manual control that closed the cockpit door.

“ _Golden Star_ , is there an issue aboard your ship?”

Carmois’s mind went blank, and he glanced helplessly at Zamrise, who only glared daggers back. Clearing his throat, Carmois turned back around, adjusting the headset.

“Umm.. yes, everything is under control, thank you. Urm… slight droid malfunction--” _Malfunction? Idiot._ “Umm.. no need to worry, uhh, we are fixing the situation now."

Carmois held his breath as the comms crackled briefly, then the fight official came back online.

“Proceed immediately to your scheduled destination.”

There was a click as the line disconnected, and Carmois leaned back in his chair, sighing with relief. _If he ever had to do that again…_

For the second time that day, pain exploded in his shoulder as Zamrise punched it.

“Idiot,” Zamrise grinned, “That was smoother than a rancor’s backside. Now get out of my seat.”

Rubbing his shoulder, Carmois returned the grin and slid into the co-pilot’s seat, scanning the Captain for any scorch marks. How did he manage to get out of the cargo hold with the droid still inside?

He was about to ask as much before the cockpit floor vibrated violently. Carmois shot out of his seat, staring in disbelief at the droid-sized dent in the cockpit door. Eyes wide, he turned around to Zamrise, jumping as a second dent joined the first. Zamrise’s mouth was agape as he stared back at Carmois in horror.  The third jolt sent both of them into action, Carmois nearly falling over as Zamrise gunned the engines towards the now visible landing pad. Carmois flipped the landing hatch switch, not caring that they hadn’t landed yet. _Four dents… five dents… this job better pay well._

“Landing in three, two, one, _now_.” 

Carmois leapt from his seat and heard the droid’s motors whir as it wheeled away. Opening the door cautiously, he glanced around, spotting no sign of the malfunctioning droid. Sptinting to the exit hatch, he expected to have to chase down the droid before it could cause any more trouble. Instead, he skidded to a halt, blinking in confusion at the scene before him

Their contact was kneeling in front of the droid, stroking its dome affectionately… and were those _purrs_ emitting from the droid? Carmois pinched himself just to make sure.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Zamrise muttered behind him.

-

Zamrise couldn’t keep the grin off his face as he walked through the hallways of his ship ( _his ship, not Skavak’s_ ), tracing the walls absentmindedly. He had almost completed a full sweep of the ship before he heard Corso call him.

“Uhh, Captain?”

Corso was standing next to the cockpit door, staring at the multiple dents embedded in the metal. He had his hands in his hair as he studied the dents closely.

Zamrise glanced around, looking for Carmois. Maybe Carmois could explain the story while Zamrise finished inspecting the ship… of course Carmois had disappeared. Why wouldn’t he have?

Sighing, Zamrise turned back around to face Corso, who was still staring at the door, confusion on his face. He shook his head.

“It’s a long story.”


End file.
